Leaderboard

Dude, that ain't 6.5 creedmoor

A big group of my hunting buddies and I drove up to the San Carlos Reservation on Friday morning to chase turkeys for the weekend. We got to our campsite around 2:30pm and got the wall tent and kitchen set up. After consulting OnX, we figured out where each group was going and hit the road for a little evening scouting. It was the first weekend of the first season on the San Carlos, so we couldn’t actually hunt until Saturday morning. My hunting partner and I opted for a spot close to camp, hoping to minimize the drive time the next morning. We drove our road from about 4pm until just before sundown, without locating any birds (about 10 miles out-and-back with no gobbles). We had the windows down, heading back towards camp when I thought I heard a gobble. We stopped the car and listened for 5 minutes… nothing. I was sure I heard a tom! My hunting partner climbed back in the rig, probably thinking I was pulling his chain. He shut the door and BOOM - gobbles. Perfect. We had at least two toms roosted and were even able to see one of them roosted halfway up a ponderosa. We dropped a waypoint on OnX and made our way back to camp. After a good night’s sleep, we were up and at ‘em at 4:15am with coffee and premade breakfast burritos on the wood stove. While we were packing the truck, it started to snow (NOT IN THE FORECAST!). We made the short drive to our spot, parking 600 yards from where we had roosted the birds the night before, and heard the gobblers going off! That made it easier to pick a good spot to set up in the dark. The snow was really starting to come down as we made it into our spot and set up our decoys. I only started hunting turkeys in the past few years, so I was unsure how the weather would affect the birds. But I was convinced our toms would just hangout on the roost all day because I sure as heck wanted to be back in the warm truck! We made a few quiet yelps to let the gobblers know where we were and sat back. They gobbled for the next 30 minutes, without us prompting them. We felt like we were in a good position and made another quiet yelp sequence to keep them intrigued. 15 minutes before sunrise we heard some gobbles 100 yards to the north of where our birds were roosted. It was either another set of toms that we hadn’t known about OR our birds had gotten down out of the roost without us hearing them. It ended up being the latter! The next 5 minutes was chaos, with the gobbles getting closer and closer. Each time they gobbled, I could feel it more and more in my chest. I understand the thunder chicken moniker now! I began seeing movement 75 yards out, which was a feat with the snow coming down in droves. I didn’t know it in the moment, but I think the snow covered up our decoys making it harder for the three incoming toms to know where we were. They missed the “X” and were moving to my left. In doing so, they forced me to rotate my sitting position and turn my shotgun towards the birds who were in the open at 25 yards. Aiming at the middle tom, I squeezed the trigger and CLICK. While trying to be quiet at the truck earlier that morning, I guess I hadn’t let the bolt slam all the way closed on my 3.5” shell and had a misfire. Trying to not the let moment pass me up, I cycled the bolt on my shotgun and got another round in the chamber. With all that noise, the turkeys knew something was up. They were confused and fixin to leave, but not before I got a shot off! What a cool morning! I had my first tom on the ground after an exciting hunt and the pictures in the snow will remind of this weekend forever. Side note: we filled my buddies tag in a similar fashion on Sunday morning, after it had warmed up a bunch. I’m hooked - and we will be back in the turkey woods next spring. CHEERS and thanks for reading! -MM

With the new grips

I think 30-30 is historically the greatest.

The problem with data is... Garbage in, garbage out... Many hunters will provide total crap when asked for info. (I wonder how many elk hunters would say they wounded 5 bulls and tagged none) Weather, bullets, lions, cars, bears, wolves, disease, starvation, yotes and arrows all kill deer. G&F can see how many made it through each year, roughly, without any input from anyone. As I see it, their job is to tweak the knobs on the controls that they can to try and maintain the populations they want. All the while, trying to please 15 different groups at the same time.

Maybe we can all take a deep breath from our back and forth bickering on hunt tag recommendations, trail cams, busted portals, elk draws, gun bans, vaccines, masks..... AND RELISH in the fact that AZ continues to stand up for our rights as Americans. Us Arizonans are all lucky to have politicians like Leo B around to help fight the good fight and the powers that be. We all come out as winners on this one. #leo2024!

Needs signed by lame duck Deuce

Got My Osceolla Turkey yesterday in the wind and Drizzle here in Florida . Been waiting along time to get this done as I am a Turkey Freak. Still raining today , I'M ready for the Beach. These guys are a smaller bird and quiet too. Luckily it didn't take me long. Looking to hunt Georgia too ! Enjoy...............BOB!

Can’t get much worse than a $50 used glock mag.

Do they have collector value?

New Mexico is the same way, no harvest report from the previous year, not eligible for current draw. It’s not hard for them and should not be here in Az.

Paying taxes in this state doesn't have anything to do with game management. AZGFD gets no tax money from the general fund.

A few years ago they were concentrated in predictable areas in region 4. Now they're getting adventurous and expanding into new areas... well... new areas to them. It doesn't alarm me too much. I watch them fumble around the desert and I can tell you, most don't have any idea what they're doing. But.. pressure is pressure and deer in the desert don't respond well to too much pressure. Add them to the hoards of snowbirds in those stupid freakin SXS caravans and the desert can get downright stupid.

Go out now and look for sheds. https://www.azgfd.com/hunting/units/mesa/22/ Elk Overview: Elk numbers in Unit 22 are stable, with a bull/cow ratio hovering around 35 bulls: 100 cows. Generally, good populations of elk exist throughout the northern portions of Unit 22. Unit 22 has been split into two subunits, 22 North and 22 South to better direct elk hunting pressure to areas where elk need to be harvested (see hunting regulations for a full description of subunit boundaries). Unit 22 North is basically the area north of Payson, and it holds the majority of the elk in the Unit. Elk in 22 South generally occur in lower densities compared to 22 North, but nevertheless, elk numbers were expanding in 22 South and few hunters were taking advantage of these elk, so the 22 South hunt unit was created for force hunters to harvest some of these elk. The early 22 North and 22 South hunts occur in warm to hot daytime temperatures, so be prepared to get the meat cooled quickly. For all the hunts (firearms and archery), hunter success will increase with time spent glassing. Unit 22 exists entirely below the Mogollon Rim. Annually, elk from Units 5A, 6A, and 4A migrate into northern Unit 22 when feed in the other Units dries out, or when the snow gets deep enough to make them move. The peak of the winter movement depends on weather to a large degree, but generally occurs by late November of each year. With the increase of elk in the winter months, hunters will also face the inclement weather that pushes the elk off the rim. A 4-wheel-drive vehicle will be required if the weather turns to rain or snow. Temperature will average a daily high in the 40s to a low in the 20s. Late archery hunt success is closely related to the late October and early November temperatures. If rainfall patterns are normal, hunting around tanks from a tree stand will produce good success. It will still be warm enough each day that elk will water in the morning or evening. The September archery hunt success will be higher. Areas: The areas around and in the fire scars under the Mogollon Rim is an excellent place to hunt for all the hunts. Areas inside the burns with standing sections of live trees will hold elk in larger numbers. The burn areas are now in various stages of forage regeneration with some of the older scars being very thick. Good numbers of elk can be found within the burn areas, especially during the later hunts. The Mogollon Rim is a magnet to elk during the late hunts because of the extensive browse that is found along its expanse. There are numerous roads that will take you under the Rim off the Control Road. Take any of these roads during the late hunt and pick a good spot to glass. More than likely you can find elk feeding on or just below the Rim itself. Take a pack frame with you if you hunt in this area because there are a lot of logs that have blown down since the fire and dragging a downed elk or driving to a downed elk is nearly impossible. Hardscrabble Mesa (northwest corner of Unit 22) and the northern end of the Mazatzal Wilderness can be good depending on water availability. The early hunt in Unit 22 South has several good places to check out including Round Valley northeast to the Lion Springs area, and the area around Little Green Valley. The areas west of Rye in the foothills of the Mazatzals is also productive. For cow elk hunting in Unit 22 South, look South of the Payson Municipal Golf Club on National Forest land and in the foothills of the Mazatzals west of Rye. The Payson Municipal Golf Course can be found by going east on Main Street in Payson off the Beeline Hwy. There is access to the National Forest directly south of the golf clubhouse. Just be aware that it is illegal to fire a gun while taking wildlife within a quarter mile of any occupied building. That means both you and your target must be more than ¼ mile from any homes in the area. Do a thorough job of scouting the area prior to the hunt to be sure you are familiar with private and public land boundaries as well as the locations of all the homes.

Great press, and he meets in person. What risk? Speaking for myself, welcome to the site.

Thanks Viper, I understand your concern but everyone has to start somewhere. I will consider any trade that is fair and of interest to me and would prefer to meet in person to trade products and/or cash. Hopefully that resolves your concern regarding scam. I will not be asking for anything via venmo or paypal etc. Thanks for your consideration.

I think some folks here are "gun shy" to consider a first time poster with something to sell. A lot of scammers lately. I have an offer for trade but a bit skeptical. Nothing personal.

World Record and still can't take a decent picture

They need draw only for NR and they need to crack down on people lying about residency status ASAP. We calculated the max NR tags in unit 9 two years ago and saw more out of state plate hunters than the max by almost double in 6 days. They also need to have license checkpoints. Was out in 6B during the December tag with almost no permits and the place was more crowded with hunters than ever before yet no tag increases.

I hear you and I 100% see both sides of the issue. As others have commented, unit 27 for example, is heavily hunted in the August and January OTC hunts. It is not a guaranteed hunt same as any other hunt, but you tend to see many folks in that unit running around. I was in there this past January for 2 weeks and yes the amount of NR hunters was remarkable. I don’t know how to feel either, primarily being an archery hunter first and rifle hunter second. I do feel it will help the deer population overall which is a good thing. I like the idea of restricting NR OTC tags and maybe even taking them away fully, I am not sure yet how that would look. As some have stated, I do believe it is only a Matter of time before the OTC tag is phased out in favor of a draw system. I am interested in watching the webcast tonight and finding out the reasoning (hard data/facts) as to why the DEPT is considering these changes.

I hate to say it but AZ offers too many OTC opportunities for NR's considering we have such a limited resource. We aren't like colorado with a ton of animals or wyoming that only has about 700k residents in the entire state. AZ has a booming population and a very limited resource. All these outdoor shows like Meat Eater don't help either. Where else can you go and have great weather, a ton of public land and buy a deer tag over the counter? I believe NR's are more dedicated hunters anyway. When they travel from out of state they are "locked in" and focused on killing an animal. They are more likely to hire a guide as well. Many resident hunters tend to be very nonchalant about it because they think they can do it anytime. I have no stats to support it but I would say if you took 100 nr bow hunters and 100 resident bow hunters hunting deer the NR's kill more. The bad thing about bow hunts going to a draw is that it will make hunters choose a weapon type. Face it, killing an animal with a gun is easier than with archery equipment. I'm afraid people will end up giving up archery if they are forced to choose. This will not be good for the local archery shops and archery sales in general.

NR archery tags should be a draw IMO. But... probably too much money at stake for that to happen.

You’ve found rutting in mid nov? what state?

I got this lion on video this past weekend. It’s the best lion video I’ve ever gotten.

We went yesterday for the first time in awhile. Killed it on stockers, it was my youngest kids 2nd fishing trip and she had a blast!